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IDDBA Identifies Trends Influencing the Industry for 2020
MADISON, WI – The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association’s (IDDBA) annual trends and resource publication, What’s in Store 2020, illustrates trends and data to offer readers fresh insights and the opportunity to learn about buying habits and marketplace influences.
Clean labeling, plant-based alternatives, and transparency in how food is raised, produced, and delivered are top consumer purchasing trends in today’s retail food landscape, according to What’s in Store 2020.
“Knowing your consumer is the number-one priority for food manufacturers and retailers alike,” said Jeremy Johnson, Vice President of Education, IDDBA. “Shopper tastes and preferences are changing as quickly as they ever have, making it vital for food professionals to have a grasp of what consumers are looking for when they walk into your stores.”
IDDBA is seeing trends emerge and dominate across the industry. These trends are influencing company decisions that can often be game-changers in regards to products or overall categories. These trends aren’t siloed into single categories, but affect across whole departments and different types of products.
“What’s in Store 2020 helps readers identify these trends, which, in turn, can help them better engage their customers and be more successful,” said Johnson.
Among their findings in What’s in Store 2020 are:
- Although clean labeled products represent a $25 billion market, most of those sales reside outside of the perimeter.
- Consumers want clean simple ingredients that they can understand.
- Clean label claims include natural, no additives/preservatives, organic, and GMO free.
- The number one reason Americans are eating more plant-based is to prevent or treat illness.
- Thirty-nine percent of Americans try to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diet, but 59% agree it’s important to have a balance of both animal and plant-based food.
- Plant-based is resonating with younger consumers including Millennials and Gen Z.
- Eight dairy categories have achieved $100MM or more in annual plant-based dollar sales.
- Dairy manufacturers us a ‘less is more approach’ to deliver transparency to consumers who want to recognize ingredients and know where they come from.
- Transparency matters in indulgent products.
- New, in-store technology allows consumers to access product information on the transparency of supply chain, animal welfare, and carbon footprint.
What’s in Store 2020 is completely digital this year, making the book accessible from any internet-connected device. The trends report offers data and insights on retail and market trends, growth, and category changes that shape the food industry.


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Why people don't back up their mobilephones and other facts
Devastation. The feeling you get when you realize your mobile phone is missing. All those photos, contacts, and other data- gone forever. Why? Because it wasn't backed up.
Just in time for World Backup Day, Avast conducted a global survey to find out whether or not people back up data on their mobile devices. We received responses from 288,000 users in countries including the United States, Germany, India, Mexico, and Russia.
In order to get an idea of which kinds of data users store on their devices, we began the survey by asking respondents for what purposes they use their mobile devices aside from making calls and sending text messages. In response, we found that
Put simply, most people don’t think it is necessary to back up their data. Globally 36% and nearly half of Russians do not think it is necessary (48%).
Almost a quarter of the world attributes not backing up their data to laziness (24%). Thirty-two percent of Indian people admit that they are too lazy to do a back up.
Thirty-six percent of British respondents claimed not to back up their data because they believe their data is not valuable, compared to only 22% of global respondents citing this as their reason for not backing up their mobile data.
Now that we established that lots of people don't care about their data, are too lazy to prevent its loss, or don't think its worth the trouble, we then asked users what they would be more upset about losing: their data (that has not been backed up) or their device (the hardware).
Globally, 64% of people would be more upset about losing their data that has not been backed up rather than the device itself. Respondents in Mexico backed up this claim most significantly, with 78% of Mexican users claiming they would be more upset about losing their data than losing their hardware.
Across the board, users were most heavily concerned about losing the contacts stored on their mobile device (25%) and photos (21%). Despite these concerns, 37% of respondents said they do not back up their data. Brazilians are the least likely to back up their data (45%), yet 64% of Brazilians would be upset about losing it.
We use our mobile devices to make important calls, capture valuable moments, browse the web, to use our favorite apps and so much more. Anything can happen to your mobile device in a split second; it could fall into the toilet, go missing (either through loss or theft) or even get run over by a car! Yet, as we discovered, many do not back up the data they consider indispensable.
You can back up your data in many ways: by connecting your mobile device to a PC (like nearly one-third of global users do. See below.), connect to a Cloud service (like Dropbox, iCloud, or Google Drive) or use a mobile back up app like Avast Mobile Backup.
The majority of those who do back up their data back it up on a monthly basis (41%), while another 8% back it up on a daily basis.
Most people back up their data by connecting to a PC (32%) -- only 17% back up their data to the Cloud. When we inquired about this difference in numbers, 46% of users expressed their reluctance to back up to the Cloud due to privacy concerns. Germans were the most concerned about their privacy when it came to Cloud back up (61%), with Spanish (58%) and American (57%) respondents close behind them.

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By the end of the decade, Ford Motor Co. hopes to have a pilot fleet of vehicles sporting a high-efficiency, hydraulic hybrid power train.
Technology development is underway now as Ford engineers collaborate with engineers at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agency developed the basic hydraulic hybrid technology in the late 1990s as part of the Partnership for Next Generation Vehicles initiative, a collaborative effort of the U.S. Council for Automotive Research, the federal government, the automotive industry, and the academic community to triple fuel economy and reduce automotive emissions. EPA's collaboration with Ford on hydraulic hybrid technology is reportedly the agency's first with an automaker.
"EPA came up with a great idea, and Ford helped transform that idea into a technology," says Jon Harmon, a spokesman for Ford. "With this agreement, Ford and EPA are taking the technology to the next level by working to incorporate it into a vehicle."
The technology behind the hydraulic
hybrid powertrain is similar to that used in electric hybrid vehicles like
the Ford Escape HEV, slated for release in
Designing a hydraulic hybrid powertrain will be more of a wild ride than a Sunday drive: The project will require a "radical reconfiguring of the existing power train design," says Harmon. It will also call for close collaboration among the dozens of design engineers from Ford and EPA who will work with their counterparts at FEV Engine Technology, Inc. (Auburn Hills, MI) and Eaton Corp. (Cleveland, OH) to develop and deliver a vehicle that is both fuel efficient and pleasant to drive.
The technology concept behind the hydraulic hybrid powertrain is similar to that used in electric hybrid vehicles. Each has a gasoline or diesel primary power source, and each incorporates an engine that is about 25% smaller than that found in traditional vehicles. That engine is designed to meet ordinary power demands. On those occasions when the car demands peak power—such as climbing hills or towing—an additional power source augments the primary engine. In hybrid electric vehicles, batteries provide electricity to a motor that drives additional power to the engine. Batteries recharge using regenerative braking, which captures energy normally lost as heat when the vehicle's brakes are applied. By harnessing that electrical energy to supplement the internal combustion engine, regenerative braking significantly reduces fuel consumption.
In the hybrid hydraulic system, hydraulic motors/pumps and hydraulic accumulators (high-pressure storage tanks located in the underbody of the vehicle) store energy and propel the vehicle. Regenerative braking pressurizes an inert gas, such as nitrogen, for releasing additional power when needed.
Large SUVs are the first vehicles that will benefit from the new powertrain. They have the space to accommodate all the components, engineers say.
The new Ford/EPA hydraulic hybrid initiative is the latest in a series of energy-efficient technologies and vehicles currently in development. Among others:
Direct injection spark ignition (DISI), an adaptation of the direct injection technology that was originally developed for diesel engines. DISI has shown potential fuel economy improvements of approximately 20% when adapted for gasoline engines. Ford engineers are currently testing this technology in a 1.1-liter, 3-cylinder gasoline engine that achieves 70 hp, and they may incorporate it into future small cars.
Direct hydrogen-powered fuel cell technology, which Ford is currently using in two demonstration vehicles. Ford expects to go to production with hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles in 2004.
The ParadiGM, a General Motors system combining a V6 or an inline four-cylinder engine with a pair of electric motors and a battery pack. Debut: 2004.
Methanol-driven fuel cells, which Daimler/Chrysler plans to incorporate in some cars in 2004. The company tested the technology in the NECAR 5 in Japan recently.
For more information about cars from Ford: Enter 537


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Deal Journal is chronicling the deal activity in some of the biggest industries for 2012. Here’s a recap of what went on in the consumer and retail space:
The global consumer may have cut spending on holiday buying sprees but M&A activity in consumer industry jumped in 2012 to its highest point since before the crisis.
There was $324.6 billion in announced global M&A activity in consumer and retail industry this year, up 33% from the prior year, according to data provider Dealogic. That made it the busiest year since 2007.
The year’s largest deal was the $26.9 billion split of Kraft Foods, which spun off a global snack business into a company it dubbed Mondelez International. (Deal Journal would have created a prize for the name alone if it didn’t win top deal by size in its industry.)
Anheuser-Busch’s $20.1 billion agreement to buy Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo was the next biggest global deal. It was the largest of a series of giant alcohol-related deals of the year.
Benefitting from the increased deal activity were Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which topped the industry’s league table, according to Dealogic.
Kraft Foods’s split went official this week when its somewhat oddly named snack business, Mondelez International, started trading.
While Kraft’s new shares themselves suffered from a few erroneous trades (perhaps a “fat-finger” from too many helpings of macaroni and cheese?), both new stocks are doing alright for their first two days.
Kraft, which has a new ticker KRFT, is up 4.1% this week and 2.3% today to $46.46, while Mondelez, ticker MDLZ, is up 3.2% this week, though down a fraction today, to $27.92.
Here, Dealogic breaks down the split, with the post-trading results making the deal with $26.9 billion for Kraft. (Click for larger image.)
Analysts are bullish on the latest iteration of Kraft Foods, Mondelez International, which will begin normal trading Tuesday.
After the market’s close Monday, Kraft will spin off its North American grocery-food business, which will be named Kraft Foods Group. The remaining Kraft business, a global snack-food company, will trade under the name Mondelez International.
Analysts from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. both recommended investors buy Mondelez ahead of the spinoff Monday, and both expect the company to post strong earnings growth.
Goldman Sachs analyst Jason English called Mondelez a “conviction buy,” the firm’s highest rating, in a note to clients Monday morning. He thinks shares could be worth $32 over the next 12 months and said Mondelez should benefit from its position at the nexus of two trends: emerging-markets expansion and a growing snack-food market. Because of that, he said, he expects the company to consistently deliver double-digit earnings growth.
Kraft shareholders gave an overwhelming thumbs up to Mondelez International as the name of its snacks business, clearing another minor hurdle in completing its spin-off later this year.
The name gets approval from 90% of shareholders casting a vote at today’s annual meeting.
Mondelez, for those unfamiliar with made-up words, is a derivative of “delicious world,” and was initially met with some head-scratching when it was announced.
“Mondelez” (pronounced mohn-dah-LEEZ’) is a newly coined word that evokes the idea of “delicious world.” “Monde” derives from the Latin word for “world,” and “delez” is a fanciful expression of “delicious.” In addition, “International” captures the global nature of the business.
Now it’ll be, for better or worse, associated with snacks. The unit will house Cadbury, Nabisco, Tang and Trident among its stable of brands.
Mondelez will trade under MDLZ, while Kraft’s North American grocery business will take KRFT.
Deal Journal is an up-to-the-minute take on the deals and deal makers that shape the landscape of Wall Street, including mergers and acquisitions, capital-raising, private equity and bankruptcy. In short, wherever money changes hands. Deal Journal is updated throughout each trading day with exclusive commentary, analysis, data, news flashes and profiles. The Wall Street Journal’s David Benoit is the lead writer, with contributions from other Journal reporters and editors. Send news items, comments and questions to firstname.lastname@example.org.
Dealpolitik is Ronald Barusch's strategic look at deals currently making the headlines as well as the major forces at work in the deal-making world. He was a M&A lawyer with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for over 30 years. He retired in 2010 after 25 years as a partner at the firm. Click here for his current and archived columns.
Content engaging our readers now, with additional prominence accorded if the story is rapidly gaining attention. Our WSJ algorithm comprises 30% page views, 20% Facebook, 20% Twitter, 20% email shares and 10% comments.


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An elderly Delhi resident’s money was allegedly fraudulently withdrawn from an ATM in Calcutta’s Beleghata minutes after he had made a transaction using his ATM card at a shopping mall in Delhi’s Mayur Vihar on Friday evening.
Santosh Kumar, 67, had used his debit card to pay at a store in Star City Mall in Mayur Vihar, Phase I Extension, around 6.20pm, he told The Telegraph over the phone on Saturday.
“Less than 10 minutes after the transaction, I received three text messages which said Rs 25,000 had been withdrawn from my account in three instalments. The money was withdrawn from an ATM at 53B Beleghata Main Road in Calcutta,” he said.
Kumar, who has worked in Calcutta, immediately realised that his ATM card had been hacked. He called the bank helpline and got his ATM card blocked and also lodged a complaint with the Delhi police.
Hundreds of Calcuttans have lost their money to a racket that stole their debit card details by installing a device called skimmer in ATMs in the city and cloning the cards. The cloned cards were then used to withdraw money from ATMs in Delhi.
Kumar’s case could be a rare one of a Delhi resident losing money in fraudulent withdrawals from an ATM in Calcutta.
The police are not ruling out the possibility of Kumar’s card details having been stolen with the help of a skimmer installed in a Delhi ATM.
Last year, at least 70 people in Calcutta had complained to the police that they had lost Rs 14 lakh in fraudulent withdrawals. The police said after an inquiry that the money had been withdrawn from multiple ATMs in Delhi using cloned cards.
A team from Calcutta police had camped in Delhi for days, tracked down suspects and arrested a Romanian gang. The gang had allegedly fitted skimmers in some unguarded ATM kiosks in Calcutta to steal card data.
While investigating Kumar’s complaint, Delhi police may have to seek help from Calcutta police and scan the footage of the CCTV camera at the ATM kiosk on Beleghata Main Road.
Officers in Calcutta police said on Saturday evening that they were yet to get any communication from the Delhi police.


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Nov 9, 2016 Venla Väkeväinen
DT50 is organized for the first time this year and it includes five different competition categories: Top B2B Start-up, Top B2C Start-up, Top B2B Scale-up, Top B2C Scale-up, and Tech-for-social-impact.
A jury of leading figures in tech, business and academia will shortlist the top 50 tech companies from all applications. The top 50 companies will be invited to Slush in Helsinki for the DT50 Awards ceremony, where winners of each category will be announced.
The organizing companies, Google, McKinsey and Rocket Internet, want to enable the prosperous growth of the European startup scene. Representatives from each of these organizations will also attend the event: Oliver Samwer, CEO at Rocket Internet, Karel Dörner, Senior Partner at McKinsey and Torsten Schuppe, Senior Director Marketing EMEA at Google.
“One of the really remarkable things about digital technology is that anyone with a great idea can use the power of the web to invent the future and launch the next big thing. But the journey for entrepreneurs is hard. We want to help even more European entrepreneurs grow & scale their ideas into exciting new businesses,” states Torsten Schuppe, Senior Director Marketing EMEA at Google.
|Distribusion Technologies GmbH|
|BuildSafe Sweden AB|
|Smart Launcher Srl|
|JUNIQE Legally: Kollwitz Internet GmbH|
|Seriously Digital Entertainment|
|Tagsonomy SL (Commercial Name: TOUCHVIE, Product Name: DIVE)|
|Badi App 2015 S.L|
|Forteil GmbH / product name: bonify|
|Hey Habito Ltd|
|Clark Germany GmbH|
Tech for Social Impact
|AID:Tech (TA Aid Technology Ltd)|
|Antidote Technologies Ltd.|
|Green City Solituions|
|Jourvie gemeinnützige UG (haftungsbeschränkt)|
There has been growing interest in investing in emerging markets, especially in Southeast Asia. Our speakers, Kay-Mok Ku (Gobi), Soo Boon Koh (I-Globe), Kaspar Hadiyat (Koro Partners) were joined by Jorel Chan, who is the head of Investment Operations for Slush. Their discussion ranged from: personal insights, their experiences, as well as how Southeast Asia has […]
I am my Rival who Drives me Chika Terada, the co-founder and CEO of Sansan kicked off his speech proposing to disclose his own stories. Last year, he tried to come up with a profound lecture. But then he realized, he’s not in a position to lecture. This year, he told the audience that instead, […]
The day 1 at Dialogue Stage was a success. With having engaging speakers and the smooth-as-ever facilitation, some talks had really sought the core aspects of the entrepreneur mindset. Here, we will address three out of the seven dialogues. Cross Border Business Strategy: How to build your own brand in this society? Welcoming Techstars as […]
A dream isn’t something that is final, it’s something that should constantly be updated and thoroughly thought about with the aim to achieve it. Miku Hirano is the founder and CEO of Cinnamon, a company that is dedicated to “remove all unnecessary work from the world by using AI.” At a glance, Miku seems to […]
The winner of Slush Tokyo pitching contest has been announced – congrats, Clarity K.K.! Their matchmaking platform helps women who are returning to the realm of work after having kids. The work-life balance for women in Japan is a tricky issue, and Clarity K.K. tackles the challenges of traditional work arrangements by enabling women to identify the […]
Helen Tung, Emergent Tech advisor and MINERVA fellow at the EU, moderated the conversation between Takahiro Nakamura (Director and COO at ispace) and Kazuo Ishigame (Co-founder and COO at Infostellars) on how to make it in space. Welcome to the space age. These two will be your guides. Ispace aims to develop spacecraft technology to extend […]
Yat Siu is the founder and CEO of Outblaze , an award-winning digital services company specializing in things such as gaming, cloud, AI, and smartphone software. He sold Outblaze’s services to IBM ten years ago, pivoting the company to digital entertainment services. Siu is a bit of a tech legend, according to many: the online […]
Slush Tokyo 2019 Pitch Contest Semi-finalists Announced! It has been a great turn out at the Pitching Stage at this year’s Slush Tokyo. 40 contestants pitched in today’s contest. Not surprisingly, even greater ideas and concepts were presented in front of an eager and curious audience and judges. Contestants’ ideas and talks were diverse: from […]
Slush Tokyo 2019 has officially opened its doors and has welcomed its first speaker, Yuriko Koike, the Governor of Tokyo. The session shone the spotlight on the city’s initiatives towards raising entrepreneurship, women initiatives and supporting the startup ecosystem as a whole. Supporting a thousand startups. Since taking office as governor in 2016, Yuriko has […]
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New smoothie shop to open on Fifth Ave
"My dad used to bake and I would help him a lot and it became a passion of mine," said Marcucci, who currently sells baked goods at Michael's Clubhouse in East Greenbush (the cake on the left is from the Lanie Be'es Facebook page).
Marcucci said she is particularly excited about the Shakes part of Shakes n' Bakes, saying that she was actually interested in taking over Shake Shake Mama's, formerly of Broadway in Troy, when it closed in 2008, but the time wasn't right.
"I've definitely been working towards this for a while," she said, adding that she is a single mother of three and also works full time in addition to growing her business. (The name "Lanie Be'es" comes from a nickname for her daughter.) The new shop will create up to five jobs and, according to the Planning Department staff report, will include a $10,000 investment.
"I'm really looking to attract college students," said Marcucci. "The shop will have a healthy, fun attitude."
The website for the shop, www.laniebeesshakesnbakesvpweb.com appears to not be up yet, so for now check out the Facebook page for more information.


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LTECH increases Merlo fleet
By Maria Hadlow01 May 2012
Russian sales and rental company LTECH-Lifting Technology, is planning to renew its telehandler fleet with machines from the Italian manufacturer Merlo.
LTECH has been Merlo's Russian dealer for a year, at the same time buying 20 telehandlers for its own fleet, and now the company plans to invest further. LTECH's president Mikhail Malvinskiy said "At the moment we have several dozen telehandlers in our rental fleet. The units from Terex and Faresin are good and reliable machines, however, as their operation life comes to an end, we will renew the rental fleet and change them for Merlo machines.
"Analyzing the first year of cooperation with Merlo, we can say that Russian customers are very satisfied with Merlo machines and fully trust this brand. That's why we are increasing the scale of our cooperation."
At the beginning of 2012, with assistance from one of Russia's largest leasing companies, 16 more units were purchased. The majority are the Panoramic series with a 17m working height and 4t capacity, the company also acquired several Roto machines with working heights from 20m upwards and, a first for the Russian market, a Panoramic series with a capacity of 12t.
LTECH technicians have completed training courses on the Merlo machines, visiting the company in Italy and being visited by Merlo specialists in Russia. LTECH said it has bought a wide range of spare parts, diagnosic systems and special computer equipment.
"Our telehandlers work all over Russia: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod and many other cities," said Mr Malvinskiy. "In the near future we plan to expand our dealership network."


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In his annual state of the union address, Mr. Putin defended Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in March, saying Russia would never give up the “sacred” peninsula. He accused the U.S. and Europe of cynically using the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to pursue a long-held strategy aimed at weakening Russia.
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AT&T Corp. President Betsy Bernard is leaving the company to pursue other career options and will be replaced, effective immediately, with William Hannigan, who had been serving as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of travel industry services company Sabre Holdings Corp., AT&T announced Tuesday.
Bernard spent nearly two decades working in various positions at AT&T before leaving the company for several years in the late 1990s. She rejoined in 2001 as head of AT&T's consumer services unit, and was promoted in late 2002 as the company underwent a series of organizational changes, including the sale of AT&T Broadband and the appointment of a new chairman and CEO, David Dorman.
Bernard, 48, hasn't yet decided what her next position will be, but she is looking to move up the executive ladder, AT&T spokesman Jim Byrnes said.
"She has aspirations to run her own business as a CEO," he said.
Hannigan will assume Bernard's responsibilities for running AT&T Business, the Bedminster, New Jersey-based company's largest unit. In 2002 AT&T Business had revenue of US$26.6 billion, down 4 percent from the previous year.
Before joining Sabre Holdings in 1999, Hannigan, 44, worked for more than a decade in the telecommunication industry, holding executive positions at SBC Communications Inc., Pacific Bell and Sprint Corp.


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Cheryl Sher, founder of Bliss in a Bottle, doesn’t want customers’ locations to be the reason they are unable to purchase her carefully curated wine and chocolate pairings.
The franchise started in 2014 with a mall kiosk in Columbus, and then spread to additional shop locations, as well as seasonal shops in Cincinnati, Akron, Canton, Toledo and Dayton.
As the years progressed and Sher noticed people’s shopping platforms altered, the brand’s locations changed to a warehouse in Columbus and a store in Wilmington, N.C.
To help more people experience Bliss in a Bottle’s diverse variety of kosher and non-kosher alcohols, juices and sodas with chocolate covered bottles, Sher decided to transition the company to a more online-forward platform. And she recently started the process of licensing the brand to fine wine and liquor shops so they can have a Bliss in a Bottle department.
“That’s also in response to the fact that there’s not a lot of interstate shipping between retailers to consumers,” said Sher, a resident of Columbus who attends Chabad Columbus. “This would give me the option of having people in states I cannot ship to able to receive Bliss in a Bottle products in their state from a shop carrying the brand.”
The want for indulgent wines and chocolates is one of the few things COVID-19 hasn’t affected, Sher said, but the struggle has been figuring out ways to deliver Bliss in a Bottle’s sweets without relying on kiosks and shops.
“Chocolate is a very affordable luxury, and alcohol consumption is definitely up,” Sher said. “I think people are drinking more at home, because they’re not able to consume as much in restaurants, especially when all of them were closed or did carry-out.
“We’re pushing to profit on that increase, but nothing is easy. We’re working on every angle of how to still get a product that was popular at mall retail into people’s hands.”
Sher and her team all follow strict COVID-19 safety protocols, and wear masks, gloves and goggles when making and packaging the bottles. The warehouse and store locations are by appointment only.
Bliss in a Bottle’s sales throughout the pandemic have been successful, she said. People who are still celebrating life’s many milestones – now virtually – purchase Sher’s pairings as gifts.
“Sales have been pretty good,” she said. “We can put together a whole pack so that people on a Zoom, whether it’s a team building event, birthday party, shower or wedding, can do their toasts and everybody has the same item. We’ve been doing a lot of things to enhance and make things special even from afar, like for events that you would normally celebrate in person, so they’re still being celebrated.”
Sher looks forward to Rosh Hashanah, noting the brand’s kosher collection of dipped wines that can be shipped throughout Ohio and a number of other states, and kosher dipped juices and honeys that can be shipped anywhere.
“Hopefully, it’s going to be a nice gift-giving season, especially since people won’t be able to be at those large gatherings celebrating with people in-person,” Sher said.
No matter what the pandemic throws at her business, Sher knows she has to have confidence and change with the time.
“We just have to keep adapting and stay healthy,” Sher said. “It’s a quality product; we use the highest quality ingredients: Belgian chocolate and really fine inclusions in the chocolate. We’re just trying to still find the best way to offer this, and I’m going to ask customers whether they would like to see us in malls again or if they would rather see us as an online store with shipping specials or pick-up available in Columbus.”


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Bonhams still believes there is life left in the Urban art market. Later this month, they’ll be selling 17 works by Banksy, including the one above, along with other street artists:
An art work entitled Leopard and Barcode by the celebrated graffiti artist, Banksy, is to be sold at Bonhams, New Bond Street, as part of its Urban Art Sale on 29 March 2012. Acquired directly from an exhibition entitled Existencilism at the 33 1/3 Gallery, Los Angeles by the present owner, this is the first time that the work has been seen at auction. One of five editions and signed Banksy on the reverse, it has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £60,000 – 80,000.
The sale features seventeen works by Banksy in total, with several outstanding originals. One of the highlights is Girl and Balloon, 2009 (estimate £15,000 – 25,000), which has been sprayed on to the cardboard backing of an Ikea frame and is inscribed ‘Quality’ by the artist on the retailer’s label.


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This is a special year for Pet Age, as 2019 marks the fifth anniversary for its ICON Awards. This annual award honors those pet professionals who have demonstrated a long-term commitment to the sustained success and growth of the pet industry. With at least 20 years of experience working with some of the market’s top manufacturers, distributors, retailers, PR firms and more, they all have one thing in common: the pet industry wouldn’t be as strong as it is today without their contributions.
Selected from a vast pool of qualified candidates, the recipients of this year’s ICON Awards were chosen based on experience, integrity and leadership. Each honoree has a unique yet equally valuable experience, and we will honor their meaningful and lasting contributions with profiles that will appear in the August issue of Pet Age.
By recognizing the following pet industry icons, Pet Age thanks them for their achievements that will have a lasting effect on pets the people who love them.
- Darcy Bomford – True Leaf Pet
- Pamela Bosco – Pet King Brands
- David DeLuca – Mars Petcare North America
- Michele Dixon – Petcurean Pet Nutrition
- Jo Hunt – DHA Lifestyle
- Brad Kane – Petmate
- Stephen Katz – Therabis
- Kristen Levine – Kristen Levine Media
- Tom Lunneborg – Oxyfresh
- Steve Nicolosi – Glo-Marr
- Andrew Paules – Ethical Products
- William Piechocki – Fiesta Pet Deli
- Sandy Robins – Pet Lifestyle Consultant
- Chuck Simons – Groomers Helper
- Jungle Bob Smith – Jungle Bob Enterprises
- Tim Taft – Innovation Pets
- Michael Twain – Amazing Pet Products
- Ryan Yamka – Guardian Pet Food Company
- Donald Young – Merrick Pet Care
- Yuriy Synytsya – COLLAR Company
Congratulations to all the winners!


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Four people were reportedly killed and another six injured. The agency said it was reviewing 425,000 2012-2013 Kia Forte and 2011 Hyundai Sonata cars.The NHTSA said the air bag control module was built by ZF Friedrichshafen-TRW, a German auto supplier that acquired TRW Automotive Holdings Corp in 2015. The agency says it also is looking into a 2016 recall involving Fiat Chrysler vehicles that had a similar problem causing the air bags not to deploy.Previously, on February, Hyundai Motor Co issued a recall last month for 154,753 U.S. Sonatas after non-deployment reports were linked to electrical overstress in the air bag control unit. The automaker said is working with the NHTSA in the investigation.
Hyundai does not yet have a fix for the problem but said it expects the Sonata recall to start April 20. The problem also can stop the seat belts from tightening before a crash. In May of last year, NHTSA opened an investigation into whether Hyundai and Kia moved quickly enough to recall more than 1.6 million cars and SUVs because the engines can stall, increasing the risk of a crash. Dealers will consider offering loaner cars to owners until the problem can be repaired, Hyundai spokesman Jim Trainor promised.


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Photo Caption: Rahil Ansari, Head, Audi India
stalwart Audi, added a new 35 TDI diesel variant to its A4 sedan portfolio,
further increasing its presence in the Indian market. The A4 has been immensely
successful in India and offers consumers a rich blend of features, comfort and
performance. Audi has also managed to re-engineer the new A4 to deliver 7pc
more power and economy. Audi is offering the new A4 35 TDI for Rs. 40,20,000
2.0 litre TDI engine now delivers a maximum power of 190hp and peak torque of
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Designed with a unique abrasive film for higher performance, TVS Apache, a friction brand of Brakes India, launched platinum brake pads for the luxury car range which have been designed for comfort an...
Uno Minda, a leading Tier 1 supplier of proprietary automotive solutions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), has announced the launch of its BS VI -compliant automotive engine oils for two-whe...
Vida, powered by Hero, the emerging mobility brand of Hero MotoCorp, has initiated operations of its public charging infrastructure in Bengaluru, Delhi and Jaipur. The brand has set up nearly 300 cha...


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Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
After four decades in business, jewelry store to close doors
Kurt Merchant (left), owner of Jacques Jewelers at Liberty Fair Mall, consults with store employee Cheryl Hairston about a display of rings. After 36 years in Martinsville, the store will close by the beginning of 2014. (Bulletin photo by Mickey Powell)
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
By MICKEY POWELL - Bulletin Staff Writer
“It’s just time.”
That was Kurt Merchant’s response when asked why he decided to close his family’s jewelry business, a Southside institution for more than four decades.
Jacques Jewelers at Liberty Fair Mall in Martinsville has not yet set an exact closing date. Merchant said the closing will be around Christmas or maybe a few days later, but the store will not be open when 2014 arrives.
Its closing has nothing to do with economic conditions or ongoing changes at the mall, he emphasized.
Rather, as he nears retirement age after 36 years in the jewelry business, “It’s time I stopped” working, said Merchant, 62, a second-generation retailer.
He is ready to do other things, such as spending time with relatives, he said.
Noting that his two sons live elsewhere, Merchant added that “not another generation (of family members) was interested” in taking over the business.
Jacques Jewelers was established in 1969 in Danville by Merchant’s father, Jacques Merchant. The Martinsville location opened in 1977 at Patrick Henry Mall but moved to Liberty Fair when that mall opened in 1989.
Merchant became a jeweler the year that Jacques Jewelers opened its local store.
To his recollection, the local store is one of four original tenants still open at the mall. Belk, Country Cookin’ and Foot Locker are the others.
After spending a year as a high school teacher, Merchant joined his father in the jewelry business because, he recalled, “I felt like he truly needed the help and it was an opportunity to make a living ... and to grow the business.”
Jacques Merchant died in 2000. The Danville store, as well as a store in Mechanicsville, which is near Richmond, have since closed as the business began focusing on the Martinsville store.
“You like to work where you live,” Merchant said. “Martinsville was my home, and I wanted to make a living here.”
Merchant said he has enjoyed the jewelry business because he has seen the pleasure that jewels give people.
He acknowledged that some people see jewelry as an extravagance, but he disagrees.
Based on what he has seen, it “fulfills a deep-seated need” in many people, one that is “as old as mankind itself,” he said, mentioning that the Bible has numerous references to jewels.
People enjoy jewelry, Merchant said, because it has “emotional value as well as intrinsic value.”
Merchant has noticed changes in retailing over the years, such as more and more items, including jewelry, being sold on television shopping channels and the Internet. Those sources have become competition for stores.
What sets stores — especially independent ones — apart from other retail sources is services they provide, such as repairing products, Merchant said.
Repairing jewelry has been vital to Jacques Jewelers’ success, he said.
“It’s important for a jeweler to service what he sells” as well as jewelry that customers have bought elsewhere, Merchant said, because if a person buys a piece of jewelry from a TV show or over the Internet, “there will come a time when that piece of jewelry needs a repair.”
As new trends in buying products evolve, stores must find ways of adapting based on what customers specify as being their new needs, Merchant said.
He added that retailers are seeing “a time of tremendous competitiveness, but those that adapt survive.”
The best part about running an independent jewelry store has been making “lots of friends and good, repeat customers,” Merchant said.
“That’s all a business can hope for,” he said, smiling.
Jacques Jewelers has seven employees. Merchant said each has indicated to him that he or she “will stick with me until the end” before seeking other jobs, and he is grateful for their loyalty.
Merchant and his wife, Carol, an administrator with the Martinsville schools, are the parents of John, who lives in Wilmington, N.C., and works for a movie studio, and Daniel, who is a rock musician in Philadelphia.
The store owner said he is looking forward to spending more time with his sons, as well as other family members in the Martinsville and Danville areas.
What he is especially looking forward to doing, he indicated, is getting to know his new granddaughter, Maxine, who is in Wilmington.
She is the Merchants’ first grandchild.


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First of Six New State Park Restaurants Opens at Lake Murray
KOKH - May 19, 2023 6:49 am
ARDMORE, Okla. (KOKH) — Officials held The Lookout Kitchen’s grand opening at Lake Murray State Park on Wednesday.
As previously reported, state park restaurants were left empty after the Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen scandal.
In February, ODTR Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt shared that reopening state park restaurants was her top priority.
“Seeing a restaurant like this full of people, exciting, dishes clattering, you know, people eating great food, it’s really something that the energy and the excitement is palpable,” she noted.
According to the department, state park restaurants are vital for Oklahoma’s $10 billion tourism industry.
According to officials, tourism supports 100,000 jobs in the state — and state parks drew 11 million visitors in 2021.
J.P. Wilson owns La Ratatouille, the group managing the six total state park restaurants across Oklahoma. He explained that he’s looking forward to getting started — and he’s excited about what’s in store.
“We’re very excited to open up the first one here at the beautiful Lake Murray State Park. This has been a great opportunity for us and a great way to get involved with the local communities,” he asserted.
According to Zumwalt, the lack of restaurants at state parks left a problem for the state and visitors alike — and getting five openings in line in time for Memorial Day took a major effort.
She shared her take on the offerings now available to visitors.
In her view, “One of the things that is really important in Oklahoma is chicken-fried steak. And I can report that I’ve tried the chicken-fried streak and the white gravy and it’s amazing, as is all the rest of the food on the menu. So we’re excited for everyone to try it.”
According to Zumwalt, in addition to the five openings before Memorial Day, the sixth restaurant at Quartz Mountain State Park will be opening in July. The restaurant operator will have a food truck available through the opening of the Quartz Mountain opening.
Zumwalt also released the following statement on the opening:
We set an ambitious goal of having the State Park restaurants open by Memorial Day weekend and The Lookout Kitchen has exceeded all of our expectations every step of the way. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner to open restaurants in state parks. As Oklahomans and out-of-state visitors make plans for the best summer ever, The Lookout Kitchen will help attract more visitors to our state parks than ever before.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) shared this below statement on the event:
Oklahoma’s tourism industry is booming, and while we continue to attract more in and out of state visitors, I’m confident these restaurants will be a great addition to all of the amazing things our state parks have to offer. I’m thankful for Shelley’s leadership in securing a great deal for our state and am eager to continue to make Oklahoma tourism Top Ten.
Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell (R) released the following statement on the opening:
The importance of Oklahoma’s tourism industry cannot be overstated. As the third largest industry in our state, it generates billions of dollars in annual revenue and supports almost 100,000 jobs. Our state park restaurants, employees, and partners play a vital role in helping visitors discover what Oklahomans have known all along — the Oklahoma outdoors are incredible, our people are welcoming, and the service in our state is unmatched.
Wilson also shared the following comments regarding the event:
It’s an honor to be trusted to serve the state of Oklahoma, its residents and visitors at The Lookout Kitchen. As guests take time to unplug from their daily routines and spend time outdoors at Oklahoma’s state parks, we’re certain that our restaurants will exceed expectations in both quality and service, and offer a welcoming atmosphere for families and friends to share a meal and connect with each other.


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Akdağ ski resort is ready for the semester break: Preparations for a mid-term holiday have been completed in Akdağ, the only ski resort of the Middle Black Sea, located in Samsun's Ladik district.
Mid-term holiday preparations have been completed in Akdağ, the only ski resort of the Middle Black Sea, located in Samsun's Ladik district.
Operating in Akdağ Ski Center at 120 altitude, where the snow thickness reaches 700 centimeters, the occupancy at the hotel has reached 60 percent. Domestic and foreign tourists to Ladik enjoy skiing and snowboarding.
Celal Şen, the manager of the hotel in the ski center, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that in Akdağ, where the snow thickness reaches 120 centimeters, the snow on the track is 40 centimeters.
Stating that they have recorded a significant increase in reservations due to the semester break, Şen said, “The occupancy rate of the hotel is 60 percent but our estimation will increase to 100 percent. "Our facility is very crowded especially on weekends due to our guests coming from Çorum, Giresun, Ordu, Amasya and Tokat."
Explaining that they spend a longer season compared to other ski resorts, Şen said that because the ground of the facility is a pasture, "Our track is in total vertical length of 500 meters and is at a higher level than most medium-sized ski resorts."
Sen, last week about 5 thousand people in the facility, they are accommodating, this week-end 10 thousand people said they expect the holiday.


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Montreal-based POS software provider Lightspeed reached a milestone this month, when it signed its 10,000th eCommerce customer. It’s a remarkable accomplishment, considering that Lightspeed only launched its eCommerce platform in North America in March of 2016.
The 10,000th customer happens to be iconic Quebec media personality Isabelle Racicot, and her lifestyle eCommerce startup Picoum. Ms. Racicot has been a fixture in Canadian entertainment and lifestyle media for over 20 years, travelling the globe for Canada’s daily entertainment program Flash, covering the Academy Awards, the Cannes Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, the Grammys and the People’s Choice Awards. She has been at the helm for programs on the CBC, TVA and Virgin Radio and reports in both official languages.
Her lifestyle eCommerce site Picoum, which includes an online magazine, was inspired by the desire to curate Canadian–made products for the modern woman.
Ms. Racicot says that she chose Lightspeed when realizing how essential it was for her to evolve her website, which she originally launched in 2015. She transitioned to Lightspeed this month, noting that the company serves global customers while infusing its business practice with culture — the perfect fit for Ms. Racicot.
Lightspeed offers users a powerful cloud-based point of sale system. It’s designed for retailers to sell anywhere – in-store, online or both, with the help of Lightspeed’s omnichannel platform. Lightspeed powers more than 40,000 retailers and manages $15 billion in transactions across 100 countries, said founder and CEO, Dax Dasilva.
The omnichannel platform is truly beneficial for small businesses, explained Mr. Dasilva, as they can use one system, rather than many separate systems, to manage their online and in store operations. The system allows retailers to know exactly where their inventory is and how it’s performing, while improving efficiency throughout their business. Retailers often see a 20% increase in revenue in the first year after implementing Lightspeed, he pointed out, which can be attributed to better inventory management and financial analysis.
The company’s product doesn’t require users to have any technical skills, according to Mr. Dasilva. It offers advanced security, traffic-driving marketing tools, customizable templates and is also multilingual, which was a must for Ms. Racicot’s Canada-wide fan base.
Lightspeed continues to expand its operations into Canada, as well as internationally. The company says that it believes that “small and medium-sized businesses revive our streets by offering something unique that you can’t find in your average chain store.” Mr. Dasilva noted that the majority of Lightspeed’s clients are independent businesses, underlining that he believes that independent retailers are the future of retail in Canada.
The company was founded in 2005 by Mr. Dasilva, beginning with four employees working out of a Montreal apartment. It now boasts over 500 staff in eight offices around the world. Lightspeed has quickly expanded its offering with a POS for restaurants, an eCommerce platform and an omnichannel selling solution, helping businesses streamline their operations and improve customer service by bringing together inventory, customer management, sales and analytics into a single platform.
Partner content. To work with Retail Insider, contact Craig Patterson at firstname.lastname@example.org


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During the company general assembly attended by SG’s shareholders, the CEO, Mehdi Amiri, reviewed the performance of SG since entering the capital market.
Amiri pointed out that more than 46,000 businesses of large to small-sized are benefiting from SG solutions .“Continuous and successful presence in Iran IT industry, In line with covering various needs of different businesses and industries is one of the main competitive advantages of SG. This unique advantage causes SG to remain sustainable and have an appropriate potential for development.” He said.
“Investments in the new segments such as manufacturing systems and adding them to Rahkaran product portfolio has led to providing more integrated solution for our target industries. we expect to an increase in the company’s revenue and the market share in the coming years.” Amiri said while referring to a 25% increase in the software sales revenue as compared to the same period of the previous year.
Amiri highlighted the success of System Group in managing large projects and its extended capability in implementation of its products. He also announced that SG’s ERP customers exceeded 2500.According to Amiri, the System Group has successfully executed 46 large-scale projects during the last year.
In describing “Rahkaran On the Cloud, the first Iranian cloud-based ERP”, SG’s CEO mentioned that: “This product enables mid-sized companies to benefit from of an ERP solution used by the most prominent businesses in Iran on Cloud platform.” He continued: “Rahkaran on the Cloud” have so far been able to create successful achievements in more than 100 mid-size businesses in Iran. In the upcoming year, SG will focus on developing its role as a market leader in this market.”
Amiri also pointed out that Sepidar SG’s solution for SME markets, widely welcomed by the SME markets and could add 5,000 new customers to the company’s portfolio.”
Describing SG’s strong determination to create a powerful platform for Rahkaran customization and its BPM Tools (Farayar) added: “These tools can meet the specific needs of customers and integrate processes in different parts of their organization.”
Amiri also said: “One of the most important achievements of SG is to provide a development infrastructure for Rahkaran which enables development of “Rahkaran” systems in additional industries and integration with other enterprise software programs.


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Buy now, pay later: 60% of consumers wish for flexible financing offers such as buy now, pay later (BNPL) when shopping, according to the study “Consumer Behaviour Rethought”. In addition to various payment methods, one-third of customers would also like to have the option of booking additional services for the product at the point-of-sale. Repair and maintenance services as well as subscription models are particularly popular. Offering such services enables stores to keep up with booming online shops. For the study, the fintech Credi2 surveyed a representative sample of 1,000 Germans and Austrians.
The number of consumers shopping online is constantly growing, not only since the Corona pandemic. However, the pandemic has accelerated the downfall of brick-and-mortar stores in city centers. “Retailers need to rethink their strategies and give customers a reason to shop in-store,” says Daniel Strieder, CEO and co-founder of Credi2. “In addition to a pleasant shopping experience, customers today want a choice of payment methods, whether they are shopping online or offline. Above all, they want more payment flexibility.” Paying in installments to suit their own financial budget is something that younger people in particular are asking for. To be precise, 57% of the respondents under the age of 35 would favour using BNPL offers at the store checkout.
So far financing solutions are only available on demand
In online stores where a flexible financing solution is offered during the payment process, shoppers tend to be more spontaneous in their purchases and also buy higher-priced goods. In the study, however, two-thirds of respondents said that such solutions are uncommon in brick-and-mortar stores. “The majority experienced that installment payment is only offered on active demand and that there is a lack of choice of different models,” says the Credi2 CEO.
Additional services and subscription models are highly sought after
Customers also associate a financing solution for an expensive product with the desire for a long period of use and corresponding additional services. 65% of those surveyed would therefore book a repair service, and more than half would take out insurance to protect themselves against possible loss.
In addition to financing solutions, young customers in particular now prefer subscription models that keep them up to date with the latest technology. In the study, 60% of those under the age of 35 stated that they would book a corresponding service in store which enables them to regularly exchange their product for a successor model.
Here you can download the study “Consumer Behaviour Rethought”.
About Credi2 GmbH
Credi2 GmbH, based in Vienna, was founded in 2015 by Daniel Strieder, Michael Handler and Jörg Skornschek. Credi2 develops and operates solutions for banks, financial service providers and retail companies to offer their customers modern payment and financing solutions. A key success factor is the Credi2 technology platform, which can handle all processes fully automated. With this platform and the accumulated expertise, Credi2 realises individual and user-friendly financing solutions – together with clients such as Apple, Volkswagen Bank and Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI).


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>> Learn: How savings and retail banks serve during pandemic
>> See: ESBG statement on Covid-19
>> Read: WSBI statement on Covid-19
BRUSSELS, 3 April 2020 – Little debate swirls around the potent force savings provide economies. At national level, savings enable governments to leverage a set of tools that address growth, longer-term development goals as well as financial stability.
Thankfully, savings also help people withstand shocks like those from Covid-19. Savings provide a needed lifeline for people, communities and nations. Individuals, enterprises and governments without enough savings surplus face financial pressure when economic activities are disrupted. Low national savings can limit governments’ capacity in response to external shocks. High debt ratios of individuals, enterprises and governments can lead to bankruptcy and sovereign crisis. The Covid-19 outbreak proves this.
A highly personal act, savings increasingly occurs on the digital front. Despite great effort to connect more people to mobile apps and online portals, more must be done.. Emerging digital financial service players make it easier for people to make payments and borrow money. Relatedly, digital financial inclusion widens, but should not be seen, however, from a purely payment and credit perspective. One must stay clear from “mission drift” when widening digital financial inclusion and avoid consumers over-indebtedness. When digital inclusion works and people of all ages and situations feel empowered through savings, then society and economies can weather storms like Covid-19. That’s when thousands of WSBI member savings and retail banks around the globe can really step in and play their role: channelling household and corporate savings into projects that nourish regional economies, projects to build roads, financing for jobs-creating small, medium and large businesses and a forging a green future.
Challenges in developed, developing countries alike
Beyond Covid-19 and narrowing digital divides, the world’s aging population brings new challenges, whereby sole reliance on state pensions no longer works on its own. In developed economies, rapidly greying age brackets create a struggle for governments and people to navigate through this demographic quandary. Developing countries find lots of people falling through the cracks, left behind in compulsory pension schemes. Farmers, microentrepreneurs and low-skilled labourers get hit most. With cards stacked against the many, citizens need to take up responsibility when it comes to their future retirement. Encouraging pension savings through tax incentives may help. Tax codes need a rethink too. People face complex incentives schemes in local tax rules, which prevent people from fully grasping the benefits. To address this, national financial education programmes should step in. Other measures can help, such as auto savings enrolment – a technique out of the behaviour science playbook – to prevent people from spending their entire incomes.
Empowering people through savings
Locally focused savings and focused retail banks understand the power of savings. They help empower people to save by providing a wide range of savings tools and raising financial literacy levels within a population. That story gets shared at global level by WSBI, an organisation that represents thousands of like-mined banks in some 80 countries. Through its outreach, WSBI encourages the G20 to act on this front by launching a global-wide initiative to instil a savings culture. Doing so will address falling average national household savings rates – for instance in OECD countries – and stubbornly low savings rates in many other places post-financial crisis. The need remains for G20 leaders and implementing partners to support – and enable further – developing economies to build up the banking backbone required to better mobilise domestic savings. Countries where people can move swiftly from informal savings channels to formal banking will gain greatly.


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Chairman of IFA Pigs Committee, Pat O’Flaherty said pig farmers are extremely frustrated that processors did not increase prices on Friday.
He said, “It is vital that processors reflect improvements in trade in producer prices in a timely fashion. Demand for pigs is strong currently, with supplies tightening coupled with a decrease in carcass weights in recent weeks.
“Demand for Irish product is strong both domestically and on the export market and this must be reflected in producer prices. Irish pigmeat exports continue to rise in both volume and value, while imports are declining.
“It is crucial that any gains achieved from improvements in trade are fairly reflected in producer prices. Producers have experienced one of the worst price crises in decades and have yet to reach breakeven. Irish prices have slipped back to 98% of the EU average price and cannot afford to fall any further behind.”


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Handbag Design Contest March 8, 2010Posted by SCAD Fashion Department in : Inspiration, Organizations and Associations, Professional Portfolios, SCAD, SCAD - Student and Alumni Enterprise, Trends , trackback
INSTYLE & HANDBAG DESIGNER 101 ANNOUNCES 4th ANNUAL HANDBAG AWARDS
On June 16th, 2010, Tim Gunn (fashion guru and co-host of Lifetime’s “Project Runway”), in association with InStyle and Handbag Designer 101, will be a presenter at the 4th Annual Independent Handbag Designer Awards (IHDA) at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City.
Designers will compete for one of eight awards for handbag design, including a variety of prizes to help take their designs one step closer to becoming the next ‘IT‘ bag of the season.
This past year, over 800 submissions were received from designers from over 30 countries. With the rate of submissions up 100% each year since the 2007 launch, the Handbag Awards have become increasingly popular around the world and are attended by over 500 guests, including top editors, buyers and stylists.
The designs will be judged by a panel including handbag design professors, editors, stylists, and buyers The panel currently includes InStyle Accessories Director Meggan Crum, famed handbag designer Carlos Falchi, Deborah Lloyd, 2010 ICONOCLAST Recipient and Creative Director of kate spade new york, Lisa Smilor, Associate Executive Director for the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Claudia Poccia, Global President for mark., and Lincoln Moore, Senior Vice President Divisional Merchandising Manager of Fashion of Saks Fifth Avenue.
All finalists will be featured on InStyle.com, where visitors can vote for their favorite style. The bag with the most votes will receive the Audience Fan Favorite Award. Everyone who casts a ballot will be automatically entered in a drawing for the winning bag.
Of the 35 finalists, eight awards will be given in the following categories:
Best Handbag in Overall Style and Design: Winner will receive a booth at WWDMAGIC American Express OPEN Forum, www.openforum.com, the opportunity to develop a capsule collection for Saks Fifth Avenue and the chance to design a limited-edition bag for kate spade new york.
Best Use of CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements: Winner will receive a design sponsorship that includes free access to crystals and Swarovski know-how. The winner’s bag will be produced as a limited edition and will be given industry and consumer exposure in the U.S and internationally via several CRYSTALLIZED™ channels and communication tools
Most Innovative Handbag Inspired by mark.: Winner will receive a designer feature on meetmark.com highlighting their journey as an entrepreneur, in addition to having their bag recreated for sale on a global marketing platform with mark.
Best Handmade Handbag: Winner will receive a designer feature on Singer Sewing Company’s and Coats and Clark websites (www.singerco.com and www.coatsandclark.com respectively), and is awarded the opportunity to create a downloadable pattern for the ultimate craft audience. Winner also receives a new SINGER CURVY™ sewing machine.
Best Student-Made Handbag: Winner will receive a prestigious apprenticeship with Carlos Falchi.
Best Green Handbag: Winner will receive the chance to collaborate with Timberland to develop a product for sale in its stores.
Most Socially Responsible Handbag: Winner will receive the opportunity to have their bags featured on WorldofGood by eBay, gaining exposure on a worldwide platform.
Audience Fan Favorite: Winner will receive a feature on InStyle.com and will be announced the night of the awards.
Leading up to this exciting event, there will be an exclusive pre-press party taking place at the Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ Store and Lounge on June 9th, 2010 in New York City.
|Deadline: All entries must be received by 11:59pm on April 15th, 2010
Entries submitted without full information filled out will be disqualified.
|CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION|


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Concept art for a sequel to the 2007 PS3 exclusive Heavenly Sword has surfaced online. There is no source provided and no confirmation but they have a similar feel to the artwork released for the original game.
Heavenly Sword was a hack and slash adventure that was praised for it’s great presentation and story as well as featuring a strong female protagonist (gasp!). A sequel would be great news but with the development team, Ninja Theory, working on the upcoming DmC revamp, it’s unlikely that they’ll go back to a PS3 exclusive afterwards.
However, co-founder of Ninja Theory, Tameem Antoniades has stated that the series was planned as a trilogy and the story for the sequel has already been written. The first game sold over a million copies so can be considered a success but it has been stated that the chance of it happening are minimal now the the team has focused on multiplatform development.
The seven images posted on AllGamesBeta feature lead character Nariko in a desert setting. Here they are:


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Sanyo announces a new compact digital camcorder VPC-HD1, which can record HD video to SD cards.
The Sanyo VPC-HD1 records 720p video at 30 frames per second in MP4 format. The compact camcorder features a similar look to the Xacti DMX-C6.
Features of the Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1 include: 5.36MP CCD, 5.1MP still photo resolution, 2.2 inch screen and 10x zoom.The VPC-HD1 will be available in the United States in March for $800.
More details on Camcorderinfo.
Don't Miss: Today's Electronics Bargains at Woot.com


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The sportswear giant Nike confirmed on Thursday that it had ended its sponsorship of Antonio Brown in the wake of a lawsuit accusing the New England Patriots wide receiver of rape.
“Antonio Brown is not a Nike athlete,” said Sandra Carreon-John, a Nike spokeswoman. She did not respond to questions about what prompted the termination.
Through his lawyer, Brown has denied the allegation. The N.F.L. is investigating and has opted not to suspend Brown while it does.
Brown spoke to reporters after practice on Thursday, in his first public comments since the lawsuit was filed. “I’m just here to focus on ball and look forward to get out there in the home stadium with the team,” Brown said.
Nike is the second sponsor Brown has lost following the lawsuit. The helmet manufacturer Xenith ended its contract with Brown last week, only days after signing it .
Nike’s decision comes as a surprise , as the company has in the past continued to sponsor athletes involved in litigation and negative publicity while other brands dropped their support. The Boston Globe first reported news of Nike’s decision to drop Brown.
Nike continued sponsoring Kobe Bryant in 2003 after he was arrested and charged with sexual assault just weeks after the company had signed him to a reported $40 million contract. A number of Bryant’s other blue chip sponsors, like McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, allowed their contracts with him to expire, but Nike has maintained its contractual relationship with him ever since. The assault charges were eventually dropped and Bryant settled a lawsuit with his accuser.
Sales of American football products make up a relatively small portion of Nike’s bottom line, and the company has been quicker to dissociate itself from pro football players accused of wrongdoing. In 2014, Nike ended its sponsorship of Ray Rice after TMZ published video of him striking his fiancée in an elevator, as well as its sponsorship of Adrian Peterson after he was charged with child abuse.
But Nike chose to continue its lifetime contract with Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo, reportedly worth $1 billion, after he was accused of rape in a lawsuit last year.
“We are deeply concerned by the disturbing allegations and will continue to closely monitor the situation,” the company said in a statement at the time, as it continued to sell items from Ronaldo’s CR7 collection. Ronaldo has denied the accusation, and the lawsuit is proceeding. Prosecutors in Las Vegas have declined to file charges.
The company repeated much the same language in June (“We are very concerned by the recent allegations and will continue to closely monitor the situation,”) when it released a statement standing by the Brazilian soccer star Neymar, who was accused of raping a woman in Paris, later reported to Brazilian police. The case was dismissed in August, and the woman has since been charged with fraud and extortion.
“We don’t get into specifics of sports marketing relationships,” Mitch Germann, a Nike spokesman, responded when asked how the decision was made to end Brown’s contract but not Bryant’s or Ronaldo’s.
The athletic company also has stood by athletes accused of less-serious wrongdoings that still became public relations nightmares.
Nike continued its deal with Tiger Woods even after his serial infidelity exploded into public view in 2009 and lost him a number of sponsors. The company continued sponsoring Lance Armstrong as evidence mounted that he had used performance enhancing drugs, only dropping his contract in 2012 after he resigned as the chairman of his Lance Armstrong Foundation.


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Since the first reported case of bird flu in Nigeria in year 2006, the scourge had unleashed untold economic hardship on poultry farmers especially those in the infected states as poultry farming is second only to oil production in Nigeria. Initially, the compensation announced by the government for affected farmers has now appeared to get bogged down in red tape, as some farmers were never paid. The fear of loosing their birds that will never be paid for discouraged them from reporting the outbreak thereby contributing to the spread of this epidemic.
Apart from farmers millions of Nigerians keep poultry in their backyards, making human-to-bird contact more common and surveillance more difficult as majority live below the poverty line and cannot afford luxury of rejecting sick or dead birds. It will be necessary to note that this virus spread to virtually all parts of an infected birds including blood, meat and bones. The viruses survive in contaminated raw poultry meat and therefore can be spread through the marketing and distribution of contaminated food products, such as fresh or frozen chickens (meat).
This is because the viability of the avian influenza virus is maintained at low temperatures, which can survive in faeces for at least thirty-five (35) days at 4oC and at least six (6) days at 37oC. H5N1 avian influenza virus has also been shown to survive on surfaces for several weeks at ambient temperatures. The trend has raised concern among professionals that Africa’s most populous nation is at risk of becoming a permanent host to this virus. With these indicators it is glaring that this virus poses a serious threat to human health and urgent attention is required by all and sundry in containing its further spread.
Impact Of Avian Flu On The Immediate Environment
The effect of bird flu in the country is felt by almost every Nigerian as more than four hundred and fifty thousand (450,000) infected chickens have been killed since it was first reported in February, 2006 and the federal government has lost fifty five million eight hundred and ninety-one thousand, seven hundred and twenty Naira(N55,891,720.00) to compensation. There is a kind of unavoidably phobia for consumption of poultry products by citizens causing poultry sales and prices to fall in the affected areas and beyond such as Lagos where there was confirmation of a 22-year old female death caused by this H5N1 avian flu virus. The following are the highlights of the impact of this outbreak on affected areas of the country: (i) Unemployment: - Many Nigerians working in these affected poultry farms all over the country lost their jobs following the culling and killing of the infected birds from their various farms.
(ii) Increase in Crime rate: - Idle mind they say is devil’s workshop, the rate of crime will definitely increase as the laid off employees of the avian flu infected farms may want to find a means of livelihood either legal or illegal. This constitutes increase in various unpopular acts such theft, armed robbery, smuggling, vandalization of pipelines even political thugs to mention a few.
(iii) Scarcity of Poultry Products: - Most Organisation that rely on poultry products for their operationability such as eateries, restaurants and others will be out of stock as all the required chickens needed to meet their demand have been killed due to the outbreak of avian flu in the area. This further reduces their sales and may also result in laying off some of their staff in order to remain in business.
(iv) Health Hazard: - Employees, owners and the immediate neighbours of infected farms or backyard poultries are also exposed to the danger of contacting bird flu, since all those reported to have died of the virus have one way or the other have contact with infected poultry. For instance, it was reported that labourers at Adiya Farms about 16 kilometres away from Sokoto metropolis where the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza was detected in January, 2007 were ignorantly not wearing any protective masks to dug a pit to bury the twenty-one thousand (21,000) infected chickens. This is against expert recommendation of a specially made mask to be worn by anybody that will have contact with any infected birds.
(v) Food Insecurity: - One of the Millennium Development Goals is food security but the outbreak of avian flu in Nigeria is a great threat to both local and global food security. Infected poultry products are nothing but food for the maggots rather than contributing to availability of save food for human consumption.
To read about the way out click on this article:


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Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Manufacturers announced new 2021 leadership for its Council of Manufacturing Associations at the CMA 2021 Winter Leadership Conference. Robb MacKie, president and CEO of the American Bakers Association, will serve as chair, and Phil Bell, president and CEO of the Steel Manufacturers Association, will serve as vice chair. Made up of more than 260 industry-specific manufacturing associations, the CMA is a powerful assembly of manufacturers and a critical NAM partner.
“As business leaders in our communities, bakers and manufacturers are the voice for free enterprise, opportunity and bold innovation. I am also excited to help promote the importance of manufacturers in solving our country’s challenges,” said MacKie. “Bakers and manufacturers play a vital role in our country, and I look forward to helping strengthen that role during these uncertain and challenging times.”
“America is confronting enormous challenges, and the business community has a responsibility to keep leading us forward—to defeat the pandemic and to protect our democracy,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “Robb and Phil are extraordinary leaders, profoundly committed to bring about an American renewal and upholding the values that have made us exceptional: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty and equal opportunity. The CMA is in good hands with them at the helm, and manufacturing associations look forward to working with the incoming administration and all leaders who believe in these shared values.”
The CMA’s mission is focused on bolstering the industry’s nationwide grassroots mobilization efforts and improving the competitiveness of manufacturers in the United States. CMA members work with the NAM to unite the manufacturing association community, and ultimately the broader business community, around strategies for increased manufacturing job creation, investment and innovation in America.
MacKie is the baking industry’s chief advocate and spokesperson, bringing his decades of experience, knowledge of policy and meaningful relationships to promote and protect the interests of businesses in the baking sector. Before becoming ABA’s president and CEO in 2006, he was vice president of government relations. MacKie previously served as CMA vice chair.
New 2021 CMA board members selected to serve a three-year term include the following:
- Jennifer Abril, president and CEO, Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates
- Heidi Brock, president and CEO, American Forest & Paper Association
- Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association
Tagged with NAM, people


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The Popeyes chicken sandwich apparently is the gift that keeps on giving now that it's been made into an ugly Christmas sweater.
Santa's no snitch, but he wore a wire for us so we could find out what kids want for Christmas this year.
The Gary Sinise Foundation hosted the 14th annual Snowball Express event, a five-day, all expenses paid retreat for more than 1,700 family members of our fallen military heroes.
Whether you wrap gifts like Martha Stewart or toss items into a bag at the last second and call it good enough, the presentation of your gift will likely have an effect on the recipient’s expectations about what’s inside — and potentially even how they feel about the present once it’s unwrapped.
Santa Claus stopped by to make Christmas even more memorable for the tiniest infants and their families in the NICU at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital.
The real estate firm said the average employee will receive $50,000.
Looks like a police horse in Louisiana has made the "nice list" this holiday season.
A photo of a display taken outside Claremont United Methodist Church which shows the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph separated at the border is going viral.
Get the french fry lover in your life the perfect gift with new holiday merchandise from McDonald's.
If you’re shopping for the real thing there’s a South Philadelphia staple that has you and your family covered.
Chicago Bears linebacker Khalil Mack is delivering Christmas cheer to residents of his Florida hometown by paying off all the holiday layaway accounts at a local Walmart.
The sweater shows Santa with cocaine and the phrase "let it snow."
Look no further — "Jawnaments" are the innately Philly ornaments with which to adorn your Christmas tree.
There’s no place like home for the holidays and soldiers from New Jersey know this all too well, as an11-month deployment is over and joyful reunions take place in Camden County, just in time for the holidays.
Brad Sattin is in Camden County reporting on the joyful homecoming
A digital bank of letters allows good Samaritans to read letters online and adopt a wish from a letter author.
For the fourth year in a row, 100 families in Norristown will be able to celebrate the holidays with a Christmas tree they may not have been able to afford otherwise.
Kelly Rule reports from Norristown where Christmas trees were donated to deserving families.
A 93-year-old toymaker crafted hundreds of wooden toys to give to children for Christmas.
Christmas has come early to people whose idea of Christmas is just doughnuts, and maybe a few decorations here and there.


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Hold urgent GST meet to cut tax on key medicines,
As the country grapples with a stronger second Covid wave, states want the Centre to
urgently convene a meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which has
not met for the last six months. This comes after the chorus for rate cuts on key
medicines and equipment grows louder.
Besides, states also want to discuss extension of the compensation period, under
the GST regime, beyond July 2022 in the council meeting as uncertain times cast a
shadow over state finances.
States are demanding exemption of key Covid drugs like Remdesivir, medical grade
oxygen used in oxygen cylinders, and related supplements, which currently attract 12
per cent tax.
Other decisions piled up include rationalisation of GST rate slabs, correction of inverted
duty on certain items and inclusion of petroleum products, among others.
The law mandates the council to meet at least once a quarter, but the long gap this time
has given rise to apprehensions.
Chhattisgarh health minister, T S Singh Deo, who represents the state at the council,
told Business Standard that the state is going to write to the Centre for GST exemption
on Remdesivir, and related supplements. “We are demanding a GST exemption on
Remdesivir and some other items. But, the GST Council needs to meet for that. It should
certainly have had a virtual meeting,” said Deo.
Amid shortage of the Remdesivir drug across the country, Chhattisgarh has placed an
order for 90,000 Remdesivir injections with pharma major Mylan Laboratories worth Rs
14.11 crore. “We have placed the order with Mylan Laboratories for 90,000 injections at
the rate of Rs 1,400 plus 12 per cent GST. Around 2,000 injections will come in two days
and another 28,000 within a week, which makes it 30,000 injections a week” said Deo.
Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal said that states need to discuss
extension of the GST compensation issue beyond July 2022 in the council as economic


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WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – You now have a new place to gas up in Westfield.
A new Big-Y Express Gas and Fresh Convenience Market has been open along Main Street in Westfield.
This marks the 12th gas station for the regional supermarket chain and now the third express location in Westfield.
All 12 gas stations are open every day from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
(The photos below were provided by Big Y)


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The biggest headline grabbing cyber attacks tend to hit the biggest companies.
Cyber security attacks statistics 2017.
You hear a lot about cyber security dangers data breaches ransomware attacks cryptojacking threats to your connected devices and they all contribute to new rounds of cyber security facts figures and statistics.
Cyber incidents targeting businesses nearly doubled from 82 000 in 2016 to 159 700 in 2017 driven by ransomware and new attack methods.
Here are the biggest data breaches and cyber attacks reported in 2017 and what they can teach your small business about network security.
59 of companies experienced malicious code and botnets and 51 experienced denial of service attacks.
It takes half a year to detect a data breach.
So do cyber security facts.
Today s cybersecurity isn t as secure as you think.
Attacks on iot devices tripled in the first half of 2019.
Months due to a hardware or silicon level security breach.
43 of all cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses.
62 experienced phishing social engineering attacks.
One of the more popular responses as to small businesses they don t allocate budget to risk mitigation was that they feel they don t store any valuable.
91 of attacks launch with a phishing email.
The timelines collect the main cyber events of each month chosen among the ones published by open sources such as blogs or news site.
To help your secops team better understand the latest cybersecurity statistics and cut through the noise we ve compiled some cybersecurity statistics and facts from the first half of 2017 along with a few potential solutions.
Plays out can.
Techjury compiled a list of cyber security statistics to help visualize what is happening in the field as well as what to expect in 2020.
The global average cost of a data breach is 3 9 million across smbs.
Small business cyber security prevention statistics.
Main survey interviews took place between 24 october 2016 and 11.
43 of cyber attacks target small business.
Alarming cyber security statistics.
Exactly as i did one year ago i have decided to publish the aggregated statistics related to all the events a total of 950 cyber attacks that i collected during 2017 the data for the statistics is derived from the timelines that i publish on a bi weekly basis.
But even the largest attacks have lessons for every business.
Respondents were asked about their approach to cyber security and any breaches or attacks over the 12 months before the interview.
64 of companies have experienced web based attacks.
Online trust alliance 2018.
Top cybersecurity facts figures and statistics for 2020.
The volume of threat alerts has become staggering.


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KABUL: (MEP) – According to the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI), Afghanistan’s exports have increased by 40% during the first quarter of the current financial year (1392).
Reduction in natural disasters and transit problems at the border accompanied by higher production are cited as the main reasons behind the exports boost, Wadsam reported.
“Compared to last year, this year exports have gone up by 40% during the first quarter. Total value of exports last year stood at USD 64mn, while this year exports are more than USD 100mn during the first quarter only,” said Head of ACCI Mohammad Qurban Haqjo.
Mr. Haqjo added Afghanistan’s exports included carpets, fresh and dried fruits, vegetables, dairy products, beans and cotton that were dispatched to Pakistan, Iran, Canada, India, Japan and several other countries.
He also pointed out some of the drawbacks in Afghanistan’s export activities such as poor packaging, corruption at city entrances, transit problems with neighboring countries and visa difficulty faced by the traders.
He further called on Afghan producers and manufactures to pay attention to the quality of their products.
“Our products’ quality has been deteriorating over the years. Our carpets, for instance, have lost the quality and design they used to have in the past. Similarly, our dry and fresh fruits do not carry their old quality. You are well aware of the problems that our farmers and gardeners are faced with, as a result of which the production chain is disrupted.”


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Xbox LIVE House Party Brings Five New Games In February
Prepare to get your groove on because Microsoft are throwing a House Party. Beginning in February, Microsoft will be running an online promotion called “Xbox LIVE Arcade House Party”. As part of the party, there will be five new games coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade. They are due to be released over a five week period of time beginning on February 16th and will feature several long-awaited titles, including the re-mastered version of Ubisoft cult classic Beyond Good and Evil.
Released in late 2003, the game is an action/adventure, following the story of Jade – an investigative reporter and martial artist – working as part of a resistance movement to uncover an alien conspiracy that threatens her homeworld. Featuring an innovative mix of fighting, platforming and photography elements, the game was critically acclaimed but never sold spectacularly. It has since built up a cult following online and has justified it’s online re-release.
Another major title to be included in the promotion is 2009 action/role-playing game Torchlight from Runic Games. Seen as an homage or indirect follow-up to the iconic Diablo games, this is another highly-anticipated title that has only been available for PC and Mac so far, so will be making its welcome console-based debut.
Rounding out the list will be Retro run-and-gun game from Konami – Hard Corps Rising, Bejeweled Blitz from Popcap Games and Microsoft Games Studio’s Full House Poker. Hard Corps will be the first game released, with the rest coming out one game per week afterwards.
Xbox LIVE Arcade House Party kicks off on February 16th with Hard corps Rising, and then one other game each following week. The order has yet to be announced. There has been no further news on the PlayStation Network release of Beyond Good and Evil which was previously confirmed by Ubisoft.


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Taking the ‘Make in India’ mission forward, the Vatika Group, a diversified organization with interests in real estate, hotels, fine-dining restaurants, education, business centers and facilities management across the country, has announced its plans to diversify in the Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) business under the ‘Nukkadwala’ brand with an initial investment of Rs 30 crore.
Nukkadwala aims to present local favourites in an organized and hygienic environment and is being positioned as age, class, and occasion agnostic venture with a low cost-to-sales ratio.
Speaking about this new venture, Gaurav Bhalla, Managing Director, Vatika Group, said, “Inspired by a billion foodies, Nukkadwala revives the zing and essence of India's rich culinary heritage. Nukkadwala offers the choicest delectable treats from the streets across India, right in your neighbourhood all under one roof. The idea is to popularize local Indian flavours across the world, just like our mouth waters at the mere mention of Italian pizza. Deployment of state of the art technology would aim to enhance the guest experience, aid the operations and drive down the costs.”
Vatika Group is opening the first such outlet at Sohna Road, a premium locality in Gurgaon, Haryana. With a vision to grow rapidly in the QSR business, the group has signed up another four locations in the NCR.


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LIVE Inspect has emerged winner of the annual MTN Business "App of the Year" awards that took place recently in Johannesburg.
LIVE Inspect is an app designed to help speed up and improve the accuracy and ease of performing inspections on behalf of insurers.
"This year's awards showed that the mobile developer talent pool in South Africa is increasing every year and the country can compete with the best in the world," said Kanagaratnam Lambotharan, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, MTN South Africa.
The Business App of the Year contest celebrates local talent and highlights innovations of South African developers.
Commenting on the new app, Lambotharan said, "The App is designed to help insurance underwriters perform fast accurate vehicle inspections from the comfort of their smartphone. Details can be logged quickly in the straightforward interface and details like tax disc bar codes, drivers' licences and photos of car damage can be captured using the phone's camera."
Other winners in the 2014 edition of the competition were: SuperSport (best iOS app, Consumer category), SyncMobile (best iOS app, Enterprise category), My Belongings (best Android app , Consumer category), LIVE Inspect (best Android app, Enterprise segment) and Vigo (best App use of Microsoft Cloud Services). The others were Zapper (best App for the Microsoft Platform), Rea Vaya (best Garage Developer app) and Wildlife Tracker (most Innovative app).


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The Australasian health, fitness and leisure sector is set to benefit from a new, tried and tested networking event with the launch of active-net in Melbourne on 27 and 28 July 2016.
Managed by leading UK industry insight specialist, Leisure-net Solutions, the event will bring together operators and suppliers for high-level business-skills workshops and business-focused networking at the Novotel St Kilda.
active-net has already enjoyed two successful years in the UK and now Fitness Australia is putting its weight behind the Australasian event as the official partner. Other supporters include unisport, Exercise New Zealand, the Australian Leisure Facilities Association (ALFA) and Aquatics and Recreation Victoria.
Lauretta Stace, CEO of Fitness Australia says:
“We want the fitness industry to make better connections for a stronger, well-connected and effective industry. That’s why we’re bringing this one-to-one networking series to Australia.”
Similar to the UK event, active-net Australasia will comprise of 16 one-to-one business meetings between suppliers and operators, as well as a networking lunch and dinner and an educational thread with a keynote speaker and workshops, including an industry leaders’ question and answer panel.
Well known business and leadership thought leader Justin Tamsett, Managing Director of Active Management, will be chairing one of the panels. He said:
“Finally Australia is catching up to the rest of the world! active-net is wonderful opportunity to speak directly with suppliers and ask the questions you want answered and will allow networking between niche’s within the fitness industry. Of course, the educational value will strengthen attendees businesses too, and I am excited to be part of the inaugural event.”
Mike Hill, active-net organiser and Director of Leisure-net Solutions says:
“We are very proud to be working with Fitness Australia, unisport and Aquatics and Recreation Victoria to host this event. We have had a great initial reaction from Australian operators and suppliers, but also companies from the UK who have attended our UK event and are exploring cost effective ways to expand into the Australian and New Zealand markets.”
Places are available for 50 suppliers and 50 operators and active-net Australasia will be free for senior managers/directors to attend, thanks to the generous support of leading suppliers in the sector.
MYZONE is one supplier already confirmed for the event. Michael Jordan, Director of MYZONE Asia Pacific said:
“After hearing great feedback from the MYZONE team in the UK, we were very excited to learn that active-net and the ‘buyer meets supplier’ speed meeting concept was heading to Australia and we quickly jumped on board. For a supplier, having two days of focused, uninterrupted, quality discussions with the leading operators in Australia and New Zealand is a superb and unique opportunity.”
active-net is a new approach to ‘buyer meets supplier’ events, combining quality one-to-one meetings with a comprehensive seminar and networking programs. active-net is aimed at all operators and suppliers within the active leisure sector.
About Leisure-net Solutions
Leisure-net Solutions is the leading provider of Customer Insight, Business Intelligence and Consultation services to the UK’s active leisure, fitness and cultural services industries. Leisure-net helps leading industry organisations, local authorities and Trusts, as well as private sector operators and suppliers, to understand their customers’ and clients’ needs and aspirations, and to deliver innovative service and health improvement initiatives.


text: The agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) yesterday announced the minute levels of regulated genetic material found in Clearfield 131 (CL131) rice seed has been identified as LLRICE604. The findings come after the regulatory agency launched an investigation into the contamination of CL131, a long-grain rice seed from BASF, because it was suspected to contain genetic material not yet approved for commercialization. Earlier this month, APHIS issued 'emergency action notifications' to inform distributors of the seed, which had been scheduled for planting this spring, that it must be held until the agency concludes its investigation. Tests conducted at USDA laboratories as part of the investigation revealed that the rice had been contaminated by the PAT (phosphinothricin-N-acetyltransferase) protein, contained in the LLRICE 604 variety developed by Bayer Cropscience. "The PAT protein has been repeatedly and thoroughly scientifically evaluated and is used safely in food and feed, cultivation and breeding in the United States as well as nearly a dozen other countries around the world. APHIS has previously deregulated similar genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant products such as corn, canola and soybean," said the agency in a statement. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has previously evaluated the PAT protein for safety on a number of occasions through the Agency's voluntary biotechnology consultation process. FDA therefore concluded that the presence of rice from the LLRICE 600 series at low levels in food would pose no food or feed safety concerns. Based on this determination, APHIS said it will not prevent movement or processing of CL131 rice from previous years. In 1999, APHIS deregulated - or approved for commercial use - two similar herbicide tolerant rice lines, LLRICE62 and LLRICE06. The agency extended this deregulation in November 2006 to include LLRICE601. The USDA said an investigation continues to determine the circumstances surrounding the release and whether any USDA regulations were violated. Another GM contamination involving the LLRICE 600 series last year caused a major disruption in the US rice industry. The contamination - involving the GMO LL Rice 601 variety - sparked a flow of reactions against the firm and the US rice export market. Such limits on rice exports had an immediate impact on US farmers, who retaliated with a flood of lawsuits against Bayer. The variety has since been approved by USDA. However, the agency says it has not as yet received a petition from Bayer to deregulate the variety in the latest contamination case. As a result, because LLRICE604 remains a regulated article, producers will not be able to plant any CL131 seed that currently remains on hold.


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Gaming is in its golden age, and big and small players alike are maneuvering like kings and queens in A Game of Thrones. Register now for our GamesBeat 2015
event, Oct. 12-Oct.13, where we'll explore strategies in the new world of gaming.
Today at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, Electronic Arts announced that SimCity will arrive on Mac early next year via the publisher’s Origin distribution service.
“Whether you owned a Macintosh or a DOS PC, we all have memories of laying down zones and reticulating splines from our youth,” said Lucy Bradshaw, the senior vice president and general manager of EA’s Maxis label, the developers of the upcoming game. “To the millions of SimCity fans out there, we’ve been listening and can proudly say that your calls have been answered.”
Attendees at Gamescom this week, from August 15-19, are among the first to go play the PC version. They’ll also preview SimCity World, a new feature that records players’ progress through CityLog and allows them to compete in global challenges, compare their scores on the leaderboards, and influence the economy in the Global Market.
Gamescom isn’t the only way that prospective players can try the game. EA and Maxis have opened registration for the SimCity closed beta.
The SimCity franchise, which has existed since 1989, has sold 30 million copies in its lifetime. In June, EA unveiled the Facebook game SimCity Social, thought to be a counterattack against Zynga’s CityVille, one of the top games on the platform. More recently, EA filed a lawsuit against the social game giant, claiming Zynga’s TheVille (launched in July of this year) is a clone of its own The Sims Social (from August 2011).


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NEW STANTON, Pa. (KDKA) - Lottery officials gave the Sheetz in New Stanton $100,000 for selling the jackpot-winning Powerball ticket last week.
"We're overjoyed," Sheetz Public Relations Manage Nick Ruffner said Monday. "Our store team is super excited to be part of this story. The company overall, we're just really excited to be the location that sold this jackpot."
The, 9-21-56-57-66, and the red Powerball 11, to win a jackpot worth $206.9 million.
The winner hasn't identified themselves publically yet. They'll have the choice between an estimated annuity of $206.9 million, paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or a lump sum cash payment of $122.3 million.
The last Pennsylvania ticket to win the Powerball jackpot was sold in Lancaster County in 2018.
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